On the eve of the third and final round of polling in Jammu and Kashmir, the mood was upbeat among the first-time voters who belong to the West Pakistani refugee community, Valmiki Samaj, and Gorkha community. These people got voting rights in assembly, urban local bodies, and panchayat elections only after the Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A.
Speaking to the Pioneer Chairman of the West Pakistan Refugee Action Committee Labha Ram Gandhi said, “It is going to be a momentous occasion for members belonging to the West Pakistan Community as they will be exercising their right to vote to elect their public representatives for the first time in the Assembly polls”.
“We have already booked a band group to celebrate the festival of democracy. The first-time voters will march in a group to the polling station in RS Pura on Tuesday to cast their vote”, he added.
Labha Ram Gandhi also credited the Union government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who gave them their citizenship rights, ending their seven-decade-long struggle.
The mood in the Valmiki colony in Jammu was equally upbeat. A large number of first-time voters were keen on collecting their voter slips to avoid any chaos and confusion at the last minute.
A first-time voter in the Valmiki colony Eklavya told The Pioneer, “Our parents were deprived of their voting rights by successive governments in the past. Now we have been empowered by the constitution of India to exercise our voting rights. We are eagerly waiting to participate in the festival of democracy to choose our public representative.
According to official sources, over 39.18 lakh voters will be exercising their right to vote across 40 Assembly segments in the final round of polling on October 1.
The Election Commission of India has deployed over 20,000 polling staff across seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The fate of several senior leaders including two former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Beig will be decided in the crucial phase.
Prominent among others in the fray include People’s Conference chairman and former minister Sajjad Lone and National Panthers Party India president Harsh Dev Singh. While Lone is fighting on two seats from Kupwara, Singh is contesting from Chenani seat of Udhampur.
Former ministers Raman Bhalla (R S Pura), Usman Majid (Bandipora), Nazir Ahmad Khan (Gurez), Taj Mohiuddin (Uri), Basharat Bukhari (Wagoora-Kreeri), Imran Ansari (Pattan), Ghulam Hassan Mir (Gulmarg), Choudhary Lal Singh (Basohli), Rajiv Jasrotia (Jasrota), Manohar Lal Sharma (Billawar), Sham Lal Sharma and Ajay Kumar Sadhotra ( Jammu North), Mula Ram (Marh), Chander Prakash Ganga and Manjit Singh (Vijapur) are other strong contenders in the fray.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Jammu zone, Anand Jain, said adequate security arrangements have been put in place in the poll-bound areas to ensure “terror-free and peaceful” polling.
Amid tight security arrangements, thousands of election staff along with poll material left their respective district headquarters this morning to take positions at their designated polling stations by this evening.
The voter turnout was robust in the earlier phases, with 61.38 per cent participation recorded in the first phase on September 18 and 57.31 percent in the second phase on September 26.
Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir PK Pole said a total of 5,060 polling stations have been set up across the poll-bound districts.
A total of 39,18,220 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise include 20,09,033 male voters, 19,09,130 female voters and 57 third gender voters, the CEO said, adding as many as 1.94 lakh youth between the age 18 and19 years, along with 35,860 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and 32,953 elderly voters above the age of 85 are also eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase.
He said there will be 50 polling booths managed by women, known as Pink Polling Stations, 43 polling stations manned by specially-abled persons and 40 polling stations manned by youths.
Also, there will be 45 green polling stations to spread the message about environmental concerns and 33 unique polling stations, he said, adding 29 polling stations are established near the Line of Control or International Border for border residents.
“The purpose behind these special polling stations is to spread awareness among sections of society like women, specially-abled persons and first-time young voters to come forward and exercise their right to vote,” he said.
He said over 1.07 lakh saplings have been planted in the premises of all polling stations.
